Our non-profit organization is dedicated to providing necessary items for babies born with cleft lip and/or palate in Guatemala. We began our mission after our first granddaughter, Evelyn, was born in 2007, with a cleft lip and/or palate. The midwives and nurses were very helpful; Evelyn received wonderful care and has since thrived. A doctor on her team, originally from Guatemala, told us about babies born there that struggled to survive because they could not breast feed, and the mothers did not know what to do when regular bottles didn't work. Those babies who did survive were often malnourished to the point that surgeons would have to turn them away.

Our family felt an immediate call to help. Evelyn's Baskets of Love and Life was established to provide items necessary for the care of babies born with cleft lip and/or palate, giving hope and encouragement to their parents and caregivers. Jane Bartel